William m



(No Model.)

W. M. DIGKERSON.

INDICATOR FOR VENEER SAWING MACHINES.

No. 520,037. Patented May 22, 1894.

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WILLIAM M. DIOKERSON, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE INDIANA LUMBER AND VENEER COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

INDICATOR FOR IENEER-SAWING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 520,037, dated May 22, 1894.

Application filed May 16,1893. Serial No. 474,413. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. DICKER- sON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indicators for Veneer-Sawing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

In the manufacture of vveneers, especially those of the finer sort, they are sawed very thin, and it is of great importance that they shall be of uniform thickness, and that the uniformity be determined with great exactness.

The object of my said invention is to produce an indicator by which the thickness of such veneers may be very accurately determined by the operator, each time one is sawed from the timber.

Said invention will be first fully described and then pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof, and on which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a veneer sawing machine, having my improved indicator for the purpose of determining the thickness of the veneers attached thereto; Fig. 2 an elevation of said indicator and immediately adjacent parts; Fig. 3 a horizontal sectional view looking downwardly from the dotted line 3 3 in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 a similar view on the dotted line 4 4.

In said drawings the portions marked A represent the bed-plate or stay-log upon the carriage of the sawing machine; B the piece of timber to be sawed, secured upon said bed-plate; C an upright post alongside the sawing machine, in front of the saw, near where the sawyer stands; D a bar mounted transversely in bearings on said post, the inner end of which, or a roller thereon, is adapted to come in contact with the timber B; E an indicator finger operated by said bar; F an indicator plate, and G a movable indicator point.

The bed-plate A, as well as the rest of the veneer sawing machine, is of a known form, and is not peculiar to my invention, and is shown merely for purposes of illustration. As is well understood, this bed-plate is moved nearer to or farther from the saw, by means of the chain belt A and appropriate gearing connected thereto, as will be readily understood.

The piece of timber B is firmly clamped to the bed-plate A by numerous dogs on said bed-plate, as shown.

The post 0 is an upright post in convenient relation to the machine, in front of the saw and near where the sawyer usually stands. Upon this post the devices embodying my present invention are placed.

As above indicated, the determining of the thickness of veneers to be sawed, and the securing of the absolute uniformity required, is a work requiring great care, and very exact manipulation. The bar D is mounted transversely in bearings O and O on the post 0, and is adapted to move in said bearings. Its forward end is preferably provided with an anti-friction roller (Z, and this, in operation, bears against the sawed surface of the timber B which has been left by the last preceding cut of the saw. A collar or stop d is preferably provided to prevent its moving too far when the timber passes entirely out of contact therewith.

The indicator finger E is secured to the post 0 by a pivot e, and itslower and shorter end extends down through a mortise or between pins or projections on the bar D, while its upper end extends up alongside the indicator plate F. The pivot 6 being located very much nearer to the bar D than it is to the plate F, manifestly the upper end of said indicator finger will have a much greater sweep than the movement of said bar D. The importance of this is manifest when it is remembered that in sawing veneers it is desirable to gage them within thousandths of an inch, and consequently a visual indicator must necessarily be a mutiplying indicator if its movement is to be observed plainly and accurately, with profitable speed of manipulation.

The indicator plate F is in the usual form of a segment of a circle, with marks indicating the desired measurements placed thereon. Centrally, it is slotted; and through this slot an indicator point passes, as will now be described.

The indicator point G is a movable point, and is adapted to be positioned at any place ICO within the limit of its adjustment that may be desired. Various means of adjustment may be provided, but I have shown it as in the form of a nut, with the point itself projecting out from said nut through the slot in the plate F, and said nut mounted on a screwrod G, which rests in a bearing in a bracket G secured to the side of the post C. This screw-rod may have a thumb piece g upon one end, by which it may be turned, and the nut carrying the pointer G thus driven back and forth. This is best illustrated in Fig. 3.

The operation is as follows: When the saw ing commences, the bed-plate A is driven forward by means of the chain A and its gearing, until the timber I3 is in the position so that the saw will cut a veneer of the exact thickness desired. Said timber comes in contact with the roller (1 in doing this, pushing back the bar D, and swinging the indicator finger E on its pivot. When this position is exactly determined, the rod G is turned, carrying the indicator point G, so that it registers with the point of the indicator finger. Then in subsequent sawings, it is only necessary to turn up the bed-plate and timber until the indicator finger reaches this point, which indicates, of course, the position necessary to secure the sawing of a veneer of the exact thickness of the preceding one. A spring, S, is provided, attached to the indicator finger E, and said indicator finger is thus adapted to act as a spring lever. and hold the bar D forward, and the roller d thereon into close contact with the timber B at all times.

By means of my invention the sawyer or operator is enabled to accurately set the timber, each cut, without waste of time, or any uncertainty, and the device is capable of easy manipulation and adjustment from time to time.

Having thus fully described my said invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a veneer sawing machine, of the saw, the log carriage, the bedplate or stay-log thereon, mechanism for moving said bed-plate and the timber secured thereto toward the saw, a suitable post or frame, a bar mounted to be readily movable in bearings upon said post or frame its end extending out and arranged and adapted to come in contact with that face of said timber being sawed from which the veneers are being out, an indicator finger pivoted to a fixed point on said post or frame and connected to said bar, and an indicator mark or point arranged near where the point of. said finger passes, whereby the adjustment of said bedplate or log-carriage prior to each sawing may be determined through the medium of the timber itself which is being sawed, and uniformity of thickness of the veneers thus secured, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in a veneer sawing machine, of the saw mill mechanism, the timber secured to the stay-log thereof, mechanism for moving said stay-log and said timber toward the saw, a suitable post or frame, a bar mounted and readily movable in bearings upon said post or frame with its end extended out and arranged and adapted to come in contact with the front or work surface of the timber being sawed, an indicator finger pivoted to a fixed point on said post or frame and connected to said bar, and an adjustable indicator point arranged near where the point of said finger passes, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, in an indicator for veneer sawing machines, of the bar D, the indicator finger E, the spring S, and the adjustable indicator point G, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 13th day of May, A. D. 1893.

WM. M. DIOKERSON. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

CHESTER BRADFORD, J AMES A. WALsH. 

